Method of desulphurizing oils



Patented Ma 25, 1943 METHOD OF DESULPHURIZING OILS I Edwin M; Nygaardand Orland M. Rein, Woodbury, N. J., assignors to Socony-Vaeunm OilCompanmlncorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York NoDrawing. Application-February 24, 1941,

. Serial No. 380,316

2 Claims.

This invention has to do with the chemical refining of petroleum oilfractions, particularly those light oils such as gasoline and naphthavfractions, containing mercaptans, gum forming materials, and otherdeleterious compounds.

This invention has for its object the utilization in such processes ofnovel reagents of a class not heretofore used for such purposes.

It is based on the discovery that effective use may be made of compoundsof the general type,

Waxewhere I denotes a monoor polycyclic aryl nucleus, where wax"denotesa heavy alkyl substituent, having 20 or more carbon atoms, suchas may be derived from paraflin wax, and n is the number of suchsubstituents, where M is 'a metal, and Z represents either a'directbonding of the metal to the their preparation are there given in detail.In

general, the method of preparation may be described as that ofconducting a Friedel-Crafts type of reaction to obtain thewax-substitution.

as to obtain a tetra-wax phenate, after the methd discussed in U. S.Patent 2,191,499 to O. M. Reiff, and then bringing about the replacementof the hydroxyl hydrogen by the desired metal.

These compounds are oil soluble and relatively non-volatile at thedistillation temperatures of gasoline and similar light petroleumfractions.

leaving reagent and reaction products behind.'

In the usual case, when sour distillate has been so treated, thedistillate needs further sweeten ing, as by the usual doctor treatment.However, it will be plain from the experimental evidence set forth belowthat the process disclosed herein has a desirable refining capability.

In the following example, two sets of data are given, in each of 'whicha cracked gasoline was first heated, under refluxing conditions, withabout two percent of its weight of wax substituted aluminum phenate fora period of three hours,

after which the gasoline was distilled from the reaction mixtureand'doctor treated. The tabular data compares the result with the resultof conventional doctor treatment of .the cracked gasoline.

Example I Treatment with Treatment with- I phenate out phemm 120 103 171157 261 258 '7 (97 57) 221 98 370 a) 57. 0 57.8 2 5 Total sulphur. 0.025 0. 030

Octane No. (clear) 62. 0 62.0 Octane No. plus 1 cc of TEL/gal. 72. 271.7

Example II a 7 Treatment with Treatment withphenate out phenateDistillation:

I. B. P 118 108 $211111:IIIIIIIIIIZIIIII s 352 E. P (98%) 392 (97.5%)390 Gravity, A. P. I- 55.2 Total sulphur 0.175 0.199 Copper dish gum 47;38 236; 260

40 It will be seen that the treatment described effected improvements ofcommercial significance in the gasoline treated, in that sulphur and gumforming tendencies were markedly reduced, without at the same timedecreasing the susceptibility of the gasoline to increase of octanenumber by the addition of like amounts oftetra-ethyl lead.

We claim: 1. That method of removing sulphur from gasoline comprisingreacting the sulphur compounds therein with a wax substituted-metalphenate and separating out the resulting reaction products.

2. That method of removing sulphur from gasoline comprising reacting thesulphur compounds therein with a wax substituted metal phenate selectedfrom the group consisting of copper. lead, iron, and aluminum phenatesand separating out the resulting reaction products. EDWIN M. NYGAARD.ORLAND M. am.

